BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday urged people to abide by all Covid-19 guidelines in view of the rapidly increasing cases in the country as well as the state. “The next few weeks are important. We should follow all Covid protocols and remain cautious,” the Chief Minister said while reviewing the situation at a high-level meeting virtually.
Stating that the number of patients admitted to hospitals in the third wave has been less than the previous waves, he said that people still have to be very careful and take all preventive measures to contain the spread of the disease in the future.
The Chief Minister said that the vaccination drive has been satisfactory so far and directed the officials to ensure that people who have not taken the vaccine at all should be inoculated on a priority basis. He also advised officials to administer the booster dose to Covid warriors and senior citizens besides, carrying out awareness campaigns.
The district officials were advised to involve Mission Shakti groups in the campaigns and enforce Covid restrictions strictly. As most of the Covid patients in the third wave are in home isolation, the monitoring system should be strengthened. The rapid response team and field officials should closely monitor the condition of those in home isolation, he added.
Additional Chief Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare department RK Sharma apprised the Chief Minister about steps taken by the government to counter the third wave. He said despite less hospitalisation of the patients this time, the number of beds has been increased and oxygen and ventilators kept ready.
On vaccination drive, Sharma said that 91.8 pc of the state’s population has been administered the first dose of vaccination while 68.4 pc people have taken the second dose. Similarly, 30.7 pc of adolescents in the age group of 15 to 18 years have already been vaccinated.